who can blame them [arriana]

[GARRETT EDWARD MARCHEL]

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Garrett, for once, was not surrounded by his fellow Thunder buddies. Usually around this time they liked to load their plates (literally load them) and spend their lunch both eating and occasionally discreetly throwing their food. Usually the targets were high school Water kids. They were easy to pick on. Some of Garrett’s friends even went for the Earth kids, but not Garrett. This whole war thing made him uneasy. Just the thought that one of them might seriously go after him – for no reason at all – well it was a scary thought. And to a dude who found anything beyond Algebra II impossible – well things just wouldn’t go well for him. But today Garrett was alone with his food - a plate of especially appetizing tacos. He had managed to cram four of them onto one cafeteria plate, a feat his friends would have been proud of. Garrett grinned and picked up the first one, shoving one end into his mouth and chomping down. He glanced around, holding his taco as he chewed. Mercifully his mouth was closed (he did have manners). His cheeks were puffed up like a squirrel holding nuts, but he was grinning happily. There was nothing that made Garrett so happy as food, or cats.

God Garrett loved cats. He didn’t know what it was. He had tried explaining it to his buddies once, but had been ridiculed for weeks. Apparently describing a cat as “a bad-ass bird killer” was gay or something. He had a cat at home, named Peepers. But despite his cat’s affinity for shedding hair everywhere, Garrett kept his clothing immaculate. He found presentation important, crucial even. He paused, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He took a slug of his diet coke, glancing around. Usually he would have been having lunch with Zachary. Across the room, he could see Jeremy sitting happily with his Earth friends. If it wasn’t for the alliances, for the whole damn thing, he could have crossed the room with his tacos and joined them. But it was impossible. He’d learned that early on. He ducked his head again, picking up another taco. There was nothing to be done, and it was pointless to fret and think about what should have been. He leaned back in his seat, eyeing his taco. He couldn’t help but wonder what would happen to the three of them – after all of this was over.

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[ARIANNA DEVIN SETLEY]

Arianna hated venturing into the Mess Hall. She hated the noise that accompanied it, not to mention all the annoying people that seemed to always want to bother her. When she did go she usually found one of her friends to drag along with her and if someone attempted to approach them she would just glare long enough so they would go away. But unfortunately today none of her friends were able to go. They were all busy doing something else to her misfortune. So she ended up in the Mess Hall alone, trying to find something that looked good to eat. She had settled on a sandwich, not feeling like taking to time to wait around in line by a bunch water kids that made her feel like punching something extremely hard.

As she was looking for a place to sit she spotted Garrett and decided to sit with him, deciding he was the much safer choice out of everyone else. She slid into the seat across from him without a word and noticed her had tacos. She frowned a little and grabbed one off of his plate before biting into it trying not to laugh. “How’d you get tacos? I couldn’t find any.” She pouted taking another bit of his taco.

Garrett was one of the few people she could actually tolerate around the school, it helped that he was a Thunder and not nearly as mean as some of the others in their elements. He was actually kind of charming, not that she would ever admit that out loud to him. She even didn’t mess with his earth brother, which was a pretty big deal for her. Instead she just avoided him, deciding it was better than being a complete bitch to him. She knew it was probably hard being on opposite sides. If her brother was that closer in age and turned out to be a water or an earth elemental she would be pretty upset.

“Thanks by the way. That was great.” She said after finishing the stolen taco. She smirked a little and picked up half her sandwich and took a bite. “You should trade me the other half of the sandwich for that last taco. Or just go get me a taco that you magically found.” She said attempting to smile innocently once she had swallowed the bite of food. “No for real though go get me another taco.”

[GARRETT EDWARD MARCHEL]

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Garrett looked up from his taco, the look of anger melting from his face. It was replaced with one of slight embarrassment and not a little chagrined charm. He realized he had zoned out, so much so that he had been completely oblivious to Arriana’s approach, until she had swiped his beloved taco. He set down his taco, grabbing his napkin to wipe his mouth as he swallowed the most recent bite. He gestured towards the empty seat across from him, though she had already taken the liberty of setting herself up. She probably thought he was an absolute pig. That always drove him crazy. People just assumed he was a pig, simply because he enjoyed his food. In reality, he was quite well-mannered. He always used his utensils, never forgot his napkin, and absolutely never chewed with his mouth open. But apparently when your cheeks bulged with delicious morsels- all those facts meant nothing. Garrett cleared his throat, sending Arriana a quick grin. “You have to sweet-talk the cooks.” He winked, gesturing off-handedly towards the line of kids sullenly grabbing food. And aside from Garrett’s table manners, he was usually a pretty polite guy. Unless you pissed him off, he was a Thunder through and through and fully embodied the infamous temper down to a tee. Garrett shifted his tray slightly to the side. He still had a taco left which he fully intended to consume.

“You owe me for that. Nothing in life is free.” He had a crooked lopsided sort of grin – one Jeremy had once told him was the one all women dreamed of. He reached across, plucking her remaining half-sandwich up politely with a napkin. He inspected it, turkey and mayo – nothing interesting. He grinned, shaking his head. He leaned back, holding his taco protectively. He didn’t doubt she would steal it if she spotted the opportunity. “No chance your limp sandwich is worth this taco, you’ve got to sweeten the deal.” He was teasing of course, harmless chatter. He was not the type to objectify women or use overly sexual language. He found it crude and disrespectful. He ignored the last comment. She was pretty, pleasant to look at, but not the kind of stunning that warranted him making the effort to go find food for her. Plus, he was enjoying their back and forth banter. He had always been a fan of word-play, of the intellectual side of conversation. He leaned back. “Go find a mexi-truck or something.”

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[ARIANNA DEVIN SETLEY]

Arianna rolled her eyes at his comment. Of course he would sweet-talk the cooks. Unfortunately for her she doubted that any of the cooks would take well to her ‘charming’ them. If they were all a bunch of cougars it definitely wouldn’t surprise her. But somehow she knew that even if the cooks were male she would be unable to charm them. She could be about as charming as a brick most of the time, and her fake charm was noticeable to even the most gullible person. It was pretty awful to be so transparent sometimes; it was difficult for her to get away with anything. But on the plus side people always knew when she hated them and so they tended to stay away from her.

“I owe you nothing. You should really cut down on the calories anyway. You didn’t need more than two tacos really. Don’t want to let that face get too fat. The cooks might not like you anymore. So you actually you owe me for pointing this all out and you better give me the last one.” She said, looking to the tray he had moved. Once he had protectively grabbed his taco she wanted to do nothing more than laugh at him. It probably had been a good idea, because she had been looking for an opening.

Damn it. She really hated sandwiches. She had pretty much had one every day of the school week for as long as she could remember. But they were easy to grab and go and sometimes they could be surprisingly better than usual. But much to her chagrin Garrett was right. The one today seemed particularly bland and there was no way in hell she was ‘sweetening the deal’. He was kidding, but it still wanted to make her throw something large and heavy at him. “How about I sweeten the deal by not throwing something at you” she said ripping the rest of the sandwich into tiny pieces.

Unfortunately she knew he wouldn’t actually go get her a taco, and he would probably never relinquish the one he was clutching so she couldn’t grab it. But a girl could sure try. “I wouldn’t even know where a mexi-truck is. But who even uses the word mexi-truck?” She scoffed as she built up her little pile of ammo. Even if she never used it on the thunder across from her she could always mess with some water kids.

[GARRETT EDWARD MARCHEL]

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Garrett arched a brow at Arianna’s words. His lips twitched into a small half-smile, amusement clear as it played across his mouth. He was wearing a loose plain v-neck t-shirt. He lifted the edge slightly up, revealing his muscled torso. He didn’t have some ridiculous six-pack. But he was definitely fit. His penchant for boxing kept him well-muscled. He dropped the edge of his shirt again, shrugging. But his point was amply clear, “ I think I can afford a second taco.” He emphasized the point by taking a large crunching bite. A few pieces of shredded lettuce and bits of chicken fell on the table below, though he quickly cleaned up with a napkin. As had already been pointed out, he was no slob. He finished chewing and swallowed the scrumptious bite of taco. “I appreciate your concern over my dashing good looks.” He gave her a teasingly suggestive grin. And in truth, his earlier comment about “sweetening the deal” had not been meant sexually. He was hoping for a food trade. His brows arched high above his head as he looked at her pile of ammo innocently. “I offer to relinquish my delicious taco in exchange for something sweet to eat, and you repay me with threats?”

He clucked his tongue, taking another bite of the taco. He’d about half-devoured it. He could see her continuing to build up her little stash of ammo. While it wasn’t as if pieces of sandwich would be an inconvenience to him, he wasn’t interested in getting one of his favorite shirts stained with mustard. He set down the remaining half of his taco on a napkin, sliding it across the table to her. “I use the word mexi-truck.” He rolled his eyes slightly at the frown still lingering on her lips, the scoffing tinge to her voice. “Really, with an attitude like that it’s a wonder you have any friends at all.” His voice still held that charming lilt, the teasing undercurrent. He avoided Earths and Waters, but unlike some of his Thunder and Fire companions, Garrett wasn’t naturally aggressive. He held grudges. He was certainly judgmental and far too prideful for his own good. But he didn’t have that natural sting to his tongue, the urge to beat down anyone who came across his path. He left that to others such as Arianna, or the campus bitch Morgan. Though perhaps his slight bias due to his Earth brother could be to blame.

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